Classrooms Crowded In Corona: Parents Demand City Look Into Formula

More isn’t necessarily better – especially when it comes to the number of students crammed into western Queens classrooms.

Local leaders spoke out at a rally in Corona Tuesday about overcrowding, demanding that the city revise its formula for determining how many new seats and schools are added across the city.

A new report by the advocacy group Make the Road New York – based on Education Department figures – shows that more than half of students in Districts 24 and 30 attend overcrowded schools.

“We are really fed up and we need to have concrete solutions,” said City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) during the rally near Public School 19.

“Capacity should not be defined by the time a child comes to register or comes to the door [of a school]. By that time it’s too late,” she said.

She applauded the city for its plan to build new schools in the borough but noted those buildings can take years to erect.

The city plans to add more than 12,000 new classroom seats in Queens in 23 new buildings within the next few years, an Education Department official said. That includes almost 4,500 seats in District 24 and about 3,000 seats in District 30.